1/2 cup orange juice (not pictured. If you don’t have any in the house, use water)

Directions

Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Peel and chunk the sweet potato and add to the pot. Add diced onion. Follow with the red bell pepper, can of tomatoes, the beans, garlic, and seasonings. Pour in OJ and water.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the sweet potato is fork-tender (if you want the sweet potato to get really squishy and disappear when stirred, cook longer).

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes from the inside of each. In a mixing bowl, combine the pasta sauce, beans, corn, onion, rice, spices, and cheese.

Mix well to combine and fill peppers. Carefully nestle the peppers into the pot. Pour 1/3 cup water around the pepper bases.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4. The pepper will wilt a bit, but still be intact. Carefully remove them with serving spoons.

Here is another recipes from The Kitchen Sink Recipes blog. I made this back in the dead of a Wisconsin winter when there was a few inches of snow on the ground and the wind was bitter cold. I substituted spinach for the kale in the original recipe because there was no kale at the local grocery store we went to. Jason loves soup in the winter and this is hands-down, Jason’s favorite. The spice from the sausage penetrates the soup and is calmed by the sweetness of the sweet potato.

For two years I have been trying to find a recipe for veggie burgers that doesn’t fall apart. I had tried tofu, beans, sprouts, you name it, and every time the burger would crumble to pieces in the frying pan. The moment I put these burgers together I knew they would not only hold up to the frying pan, but would hold up to the grill. Hayley at Buff Chickpea knew what she was talking about when she said this was the only veggie burger a cook would need. While I didn’t follow the recipe to a T, it is basically the same recipe.

Beans are so cheap – at less than $1 a bag, these burgers cost pennies to make.

These were so good that not only did Jason have two for lunch (working out is making him eat like he is back in college doing two-a-days for football) but asked about making more for his lunches in the coming weeks. When I made the recipe I made enough for 10 veggie burgers. These could be cooked first and then frozen for an easy reheat or frozen first, thawed out and then cooked for a fresh burger. It is really up to what you’d like to do – save time now and cook them later or cook them now and save time later. I made them at 8pm on a Sunday night before having to get up at 4:15 to the run the next morning, so I opted for the later.

Ingredients– 1 pound bag of chickpeas soaked, boiled, and drained (make sure they are cooled completely before using if you do this all in the same day)– 1 pound bag of great northern beans, soaked, boiled, and drained– 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained– 1 bunch of green onions – 1 TBSP diced garlic– 1 TBSP chopped fresh basil– 4 large eggs– 1 1/2 cup ground flax seed– 3/4 cup ground whole wheat bread crumbs– salt and pepper as desired*I am terrible at following recipes, so I recommend using your judgement with these. I believe I recall how much of each item I used, but I could be wrong. If the burgers are too wet, at more grains. If they are too dry, add some olive oil or an extra egg.

Directions1. Place half the beans in a blender for food processor. Add half of the red peppers, onions, garlic, and basil. Add 2 eggs and blend on medium until a semi-smooth consistency. 2. Remove from blender and set into a big bowl. Add half the flax seed and bread crumbs. Mix well and let sit.3. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. 4. Once blended, add to the bowl and add the remaining flax seeds and bread crumbs. Mix well and let stand for 5 minutes.5. Spray wax paper with cooking spray. Form burgers with your hands and place onto the wax paper. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up.6. If freezing, set in the freezer like this and let harden over night. In the morning, remove from wax paper and place in a freezer bag. When you decide to cook them, let them thaw out first to prevent from over cooking the outside.7. If cooking immediately, heat oil in a skillet or heat a grill. If grilling, spray the grill grate with cooking spray for grilling to prevent sticking (we forgot to do this and lost some on the grate). Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the center is 165F (this has eggs in it, so make sure it is cooked all the way).

They may be a little dry if you freeze them and then cook them, but I just added some Olive Oil Mayo and a slice of Sharp Cheddar made with 2% milk. Eat them with a delicious homemade hamburger bun and you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of this sooner.

Although it is not officially winter yet, it sure feels like it! Today it has been in the teens all day with the windchill feels like the single digits. Jason and I love eating soup and chili when it is cold like this. I usually never buy canned soup because it is so easy to make in the crock pot. I wanted to try something new, so after skimming some white bean chili recipes online, I came up with my own simple version. It turned out great, especially for a first try!

Jason and I were trying to figure out what to do with the pork we bought on sale this week (we usually always buy whatever meat is on sale and then base our meals off of it) and we were inspired by a meal his parents made for us when we came home a few weekends ago; they grilled pork chops with a honey glaze and had an apple and raisin chutney. Something about apples, maple syrup, and pork just always works.

This dish has a variety of nutrients. Jason’s only critique is that it could use a little more diversity in the color, which I agree with. This dish has tons of protein, fiber, iron, vitamin A, and B vitamins. Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, be sure to start the barley right away, since it takes about 45 minutes total.

Pork

We bought fresh pork ribs from the store and grilled them on a charcoal grill. Prior to grilling, we glazed them with a maple honey mustard glaze (see recipe below). Jason also basted them with this while they were grilling. Be careful; the glaze can cause the outside to burn, to limit the number of times you have to flip the pork if you are going to baste them each time you flip them. We used a meat thermometer to make sure the pork didn’t dry out (make sure to cook it to 160F).

Maple Honey Mustard Glaze

Ingredients:

1 TBSP mayo (I like to use to the real stuff, because it has less additives and a little can go a long way)

1 TBSP maple syrup (again, I like to use the real, pure maple syrup; it is a little more expensive, but we use maple syrup so rarely that the cost difference is not a big deal for how much better the flavor is)

2 TBSP honey Dijon mustard

Directions:

Whisk mayo and mustard together until well blended. Whisk in the maple syrup until a uniform sauce is created. Add more or less of any ingredient, as needed.

Fruited Sweet PotatoTopping

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato

2 small Fuji apples

1/8 cup pecans, broken

1/8 cup cranberries

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Wash the sweet potatoes and apples, but leave the skins on.

Slice sweet potatoes into circles, starting at the small end and working towards the middle. I also like to turn it around about 1/3 of the way and start at the other end, working towards the middle. This seems to help with cutting when it gets lopsided.

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large skillet; then add the sweet potatoes and cover. By covering the pan, the steam can help cook the sweet potatoes.

Stir and flip frequently to prevent the sweet potatoes from burning.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, slice and core the apples. I cut the apple in to 4, take out the core and then cut each fourth into 3 more slices. I then cut each slice (you can do more than one at a time) into 3 chunks.

Once the sweet potatoes have browned slightly and are getting soft, add the apples. Continue to stir periodically.

Once the apples are golden and soft, all the cranberries, pecans, and spices. Cover the pan. Turn down the heat to simmer or off completely.

Eat as a side or as a topping for the pork or barley.

BarleyI used pearl barley, which takes 35 – 45 minutes to cook. Add 1 part barley to 3 parts water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer and cover to cook for 35-45 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed and the barley is tender. If the water is not absorbed but the barley is tender, you can empty into a strainer.

Eat plain or top with the sweet potato mixture, maple honey mustard sauce, or plain old butter, salt, and pepper.